Top 5 South Africans to have played in the IPL

The Indian Premier League, since its inception in 2008, has played host to a galaxy of stars who have set the stage on fire with their explosive batting or crafty bowling. While young Indian players have emerged with each passing year, international players have added more flavor to the cash-rich league.

South Africa is one such country from which quality players have participated in the IPL, plying their trade for various franchises and adding quality to the line-ups. Players such as AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis amongst others have played an integral role in their franchises and stood out as some of the best players in the IPL.

Here are five players from South Africa who have had a massive impact on the cash-rich league.

#5 Albie Morkel

The younger of the Morkel brothers, Albie Morkel's big-hitting ability mixed with his pace bowling earned him a spot in the Chennai Super Kings set-up during the first few seasons of the Indian Premier League.

In the first two seasons, the all-rounder's bowling came to the fore as he picked up 17 and 13 wickets in 2008 and 2009 respectively. In 2010, his bowling came under fire, but 2011 saw him making a comeback as he picked 15 wickets and also chipped in with crucial knocks at the death.

Morkel's 28-run carnage in the final over of the final against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2012 highlighted his importance in the team, but injuries hampered his 2013 season.

Following a moderate season with the Royal Challengers Bangalore, where he featured in just seven games, Albie went out of favor in the IPL but his overall stats - 974 runs and 85 wickets from 91 matches - make him one of the biggest names from South Africa to have participated in the IPL.

#4 Jean-Paul Duminy

Duminy's batting skills coupled with his cunning off-spinners made him a handy player

Jean-Paul Duminy, one of South Africa's best all-rounders, represented four different teams in his IPL career and played an important part in the middle-order as well as with the ball for all of them. Duminy's wide range of shots laced with bouts of innovativeness fetched him a lot of runs.

Duminy started his IPL career with the Mumbai Indians in 2009, whom he represented for two years, scoring 529 runs from 20 matches to go with five wickets. He shifted to the now-defunct Deccan Chargers in 2011, but did not enjoy a great run of form, forcing him to move to the Delhi Daredevils in 2014.

Duminy's experience earned him a constant spot in the Delhi line-up and he scored 410 runs from just 14 games. In the next season, he was named skipper and he performed better with the ball, picking eight wickets from 14 games to go with 414 runs with the bat.

2016 saw Duminy's form dip as he could muster only 191 runs from 10 games following which he skipped the 2017 IPL citing personal reasons.

#3 Dale Steyn

Steyn's aggressiveness fueled his bowling in the IPL

Spitting venom with the ball in hand, Dale Steyn is one of the most feared fast bowlers in the world. In the IPL, Steyn has enjoyed resounding success but his career has always been plagued by injuries, hindering his cause.

The speedster started his IPL career with RCB and donned the lead pacer's role in the first season, picking up 10 wickets from 10 games at an economy of 6.63 but a spate of injuries ruined the next season, only for him to bounce back strongly in the next two editions, picking 29 wickets with an economy of just 6.75.

He then earned a lucrative contract with the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013. His first stint with Hyderabad proved to be a fruitful one as he collected 19 wickets from 17 games at 5.66 RPO.

However, his form dipped in the subsequent seasons which only compounded his woes and he featured in just five games in the 2016 and 2017 seasons together.

However, Steyn's 92 scalps from 90 games make him one of the best South African's to have featured in the league.

#2 Jacques Kallis

Kallis finished his career as one of the most consistent all-rounders in the history of the IPL

Easily one of the most prominent all-rounders in IPL history, Kallis' career was decorated with class and consistency which saw him play an integral part in the Kolkata Knight Riders' wins in 2012 and 2014.

Kallis entered the IPL scenario with the RCB franchise in the inaugural season and played three seasons for the Bengaluru-based side, putting up his best performance in the 2010 season in which he scored 572 runs from 16 games.

The burly South African shifted to the Knight Riders in 2011 and cemented his spot at the top of the order, forming a strong alliance with skipper Gautam Gambhir for the ensuing seasons. Kallis amassed 424 runs from 11 games in 2011, 409 from 17 games in 2012 and 311 runs in 16 games in addition to 15 and 16 wickets in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

A woeful run of form in 2014 saw Kallis lose his place in the side and he subsequently settled into the mentor's role in 2015, a position he holds even today.

#1 AB de Villiers

AB's innovative batting is something to marvel at

The embodiment of innovation, AB de Villiers' ability to hit the ball to all parts of the ground has made bowling to the South African marauder a back-breaking task.

The dashing right-hander started his IPL career with the Delhi Daredevils but endured a horrific inaugural season, scoring just 95 runs from 6 matches. He found his bearings in the following season though, finishing as the third-highest run scorer with 465 runs from 15 games at a strike rate of 130.98.

AB then shifted teams to play for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011 and started off with two moderate seasons by his lofty standards, scoring 312 runs (2012) and 319 runs (2013), albeit at a high strike rate.

In 2013, he made 360 runs from 14 games at a good strike rate of 164.38 and in the ensuing season, his destructive batting came to the fore, making him an indispensable part of RCB's middle order.

Seasons eight and nine saw a resurgence of sorts. Scoring his first ever IPL century, against Mumbai Indians, AB powered his way through, amassing 513 runs from 16 matches. He bettered that feat in 2016 with 687 runs from 16 matches at a stunning average of 52.84 and strike rate of 168.79, leading RCB to the final.

The landmark 10th season of the IPL did not see the best of the South African, as he could only muster 216 runs from 9 matches owing to injuries which kept him out of the opening games of the season.